The Official Publication of

The Hamilton Centre,

Royal Astronomical Society of Canada Volume 49, Issue 1: November, 2016

Orbit

2

So...here I go again. This is my tenth year as editor of Orbit. I’ve missed two in that time, both due to illness, so this is

my 89th edition. Fortunately, I’m still enjoying myself, so as long as the Board and membership enjoy what I’m doing,

then I’ll keep doing it for as long as I enjoy doing it. If, however, someone out there feels strongly that they would love

to be the editor, then you can have the job for the January 2018 edition. At that point, I will have done 100 issues, and

been editor for the Golden anniversary of Orbit.

Orbit editor is also typically a Board position, although it doesn’t have to be. Being on the Board is a good idea, if, like

me, you’re a bit curious about what’s going on in the Centre. We’ve had to say goodbye to two Board members for the

coming year: John Devonshire and Andy Blanchard. John has said that he will continue to help out with the web site,

and he remains one of the administrators of our Forum (as are Gary Bennett and I). Andy Blanchard will be directing his

considerable talents toward other projects, and we should all hope they come to fruition.

We also get to welcome two new people to the Board: Murray Romisher and Dino DiSabatino. I have to admit that I

don’t know much about either of these two gentlemen, but one thing I have learned during the 5 different decades of be-

ing on the Board, is that the vast majority of people who put forth their time and effort to help out are going to be people

well worth knowing!

I should also mention Ed Mizzi, who is a quasi-autonomous non-Board operative...he looks after Public Outreach, some-

thing that we’ll be focussing on very much in the coming year. Several people have already done a number of events.

For instance, you can read about Muhammad Ahmad, who welcomed a Muslim Boys club to the observatory last month,

as well as Ed Mizzi who did a couple of presentations to schools and Girl Guides. Even I did a presentation at Wa-

terdown Public Library!

Another thing that I am hoping will happen this year is NOVA. This is an introductory course to basic astronomy that

was first written by the Prince George Centre, and they gifted it to the RASC. It consists of 8 evenings, about 2 hours

each, about two weeks apart, that are designed to introduce people to basic terminology and concepts in astronomy. It

came about when I realized that many of the ideas that I took for granted were unknown to many members. The move-

ment of the planets against the background stars, the nomenclature of star names, phases of the Moon, basic telescope

designs, and the like, were misunderstood, or unknown. In many cases, it was just expected that people would pick this

stuff up by osmosis...that they’d here something and put two and two together. This, to me, seemed incredibly haphaz-

ard, so when I heard about the NOVA course, I looked into it and decided to run it here in Hamilton. I put my money

where my mouth was and put together all the PowerPoint slides, course materials, books, etc. and presented 8 two-hour

lectures. I’ve done this three times now, in the Winter and Spring of 2013, 2014, and 2015. I took a break this year b3e-

cause I had my hands full with getting the Forum going (http://hamiltonrasc.ca/forum/index.php ). I have heard, howev-

er, that there is a bit of pent-up demand for another run of the program. The only issue is that the textbook we used, the

Beginners Observers Guide, is no longer available in book form, although we have a series of PDFs of it. It is being re-

placed by a book called Introduction to the Universe, which is also a certificate offered by the RASC. A new NOVA

course, based on the new book, is being written at the moment, but there is no firm deadline for delivery. My fear is that

it will come too late for 2017. So...at the moment, I intend to try to deliver the old course one last time.

I also mentioned the Forum in the previous (and overly long) paragraph. Please log on. Unless you’ve changed it, your

username is your firstname.lastname (for instance Ken.Chilton) and your password is the six characters of your postal

code, all upper case, so L7R3R6. Please feel free to change either, or both, but particularly the password. There’s a fair-

ly vibrant community of members to be found there.

So, that’s about it for this month. See you at a meeting, or at the Observatory.

Roger

Issue Number 1, November, 2016 Roger Hill, Editor

3

Muslim Boys' Club visits our Observatory by Muhammad Ahmad

On October 22nd, We hosted the Muslim Boys' Club at the Hamilton Centre Observatory. The club organizes activities

and field trips once a month for home-schooling fathers and sons (ages 6-12) from across the Greater Toronto Area.

The evening began with Ed Mizzi setting up a Dobsonian telescope to give everyone a breath-taking view of Venus and

Saturn. Mars was also visible higher in the sky.

I then presented slides and video about the solar system, constellations, galaxies, and telescopes. The boys enjoyed put-

ting together their own cardboard planispheres and then heading outside to see what they had just learned (e.g., the Big

Dipper).

With a beautiful clear sky, many fathers and sons stayed to enjoy the view, learn from Ed how to properly use binocu-

lars, or watch Gary Bennett fix the 16" Ritchey–Chrétien. There was so much interest and excitement generated about

astronomy that another outreach event might be planned for those who could not attend due to space limitations.

4

Is Proxima Centauri's 'Earth-like' planet actually like Earth at all?

By Ethan Siegel

Just 25 years ago, scientists didn’t know if any stars—other than our own sun, of course—had planets orbiting

around them. Yet they knew with certainty that gravity from massive planets caused the sun to move around our

solar system’s center of mass. Therefore, they reasoned that other stars would have periodic changes to their mo-

tions if they, too, had planets.

This change in motion first led to the detection of planets around pulsars in 1991, thanks to the change in pulsar timing it caused.

Then, finally, in 1995 the first exoplanet around a normal star, 51 Pegasi b, was discovered via the “stellar wobble” of its parent star.

Since that time, over 3000 exoplanets have been confirmed, most of which were first discovered by NASA's Kepler mission using

the transit method. These transits only work if a solar system is fortuitously aligned to our perspective; nevertheless, we now know

that planets—even rocky planets at the right distance for liquid water on their surface—are quite common in the Milky Way.

On August 24, 2016, scientists announced that the stellar wobble of Proxima Centauri, the closest star to our sun, indicated the exist-

ence of an exoplanet. At just 4.24 light years away, this planet orbits its red dwarf star in just 11 days, with a lower limit to its mass

of just 1.3 Earths. If verified, this would bring the number of Earth-like planets found in their star's habitable zones up to 22, with

'Proxima b' being the closest one. Just based on what we've seen so far, if this planet is real and has 130 percent the mass of Earth,

we can already infer the following:

It receives 70 percent of the sunlight incident on Earth, giving it the right temperature for liquid water on its surface, assuming

an Earth-like atmosphere.

It should have a radius approximately 10 percent larger than our own planet's, assuming it is made of similar elements.

It is plausible that the planet would be tidally locked to its star, implying a permanent 'light side' and a permanent 'dark side'.

And if so, then seasons on this world are determined by the orbit's ellipticity, not by axial tilt.

Yet the unknowns are tremendous. Proxima Centauri emits considerably less ultraviolet light than a star like the sun; can life begin

without that? Solar flares and winds are much greater around this world; have they stripped away the atmosphere entirely? Is the far

side permanently frozen, or do winds allow possible life there? Is the near side baked and barren, leaving only the 'ring' at the edge

potentially habitable?

Proxima b is a vastly different world from Earth, and could range anywhere from actually inhabited to completely unsuitable for any

form of life. As 30m-class telescopes and the next generation of space observatories come online, we just may find out!

Looking to teach kids about exoplanet discovery? NASA Space Place explains stellar wobble and how this phenomenon can help

scientists find exoplanets: http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/barycenter/en/

An artist’s conception of

the exoplanet Kepler-

452b (R), a possible can-

didate for Earth 2.0, as

compared with Earth (L).

Image credit: NASA/

Ames/JPL-Caltech/T.

Pyle.

5

Outreach in Burford, Ontario By Ed Mizzi

For the past few weeks, Bob Prociuk, Bill Leggitt and Ed Mizzi have been planning a visit to the Burford Library. One of

the Brant County Librarian’s, Gary Jermy, contacted Gary Bennett, our President, to ask if we could do an astronomy

presentation that included some astronomy knowledge and some information on viewing the night sky and the equipment

necessary. Gary Jermy is actually considering a telescope loaner program for their libraries.

So, we drove to Burford (just West of Brantford) on the evening of Wednesday, October 19 and spent two hours speak-

ing with a group of 30 very keen individuals, from teenagers to seniors.

We took with us an assortment of books, binoculars, telescopes and accessories for the scopes. After a short description

of our club and what we are about, we shared several slides and had a discussion about the relative sizes of planets and

Earth’s place in the Universe. The group was very engaged and asked several intriguing questions, some that we easily

answered and others that we just didn’t have the depth for or that we knew were unanswerable at this time in human his-

tory.

We discussed visual astronomy and just how much can be seen with the naked eye, without spending a dime. Then we

described how binoculars work and which sizes and types to have for night viewing. We talked about different types and

sizes of telescopes and what we recommend for beginners and those with a casual interest in astronomy. We mentioned

photography and how, even with a smart phone or point and shoot camera, it is possible to get images of the Moon and

other objects and events.

We displayed and described two planetarium programs/apps, Stellarium and Sky Safari and how they can be used to

learn about and observe the heavens.

Several participants stayed afterward to ask more questions so we felt that it was a success and a very worthwhile ven-

ture. Gary Jermy was very appreciative and thankful for our visit and told us it was one of the best attended talks and one

of the most interesting. He commented on how the audience members were so engaged for the full two hours, ending at

9 p.m.

Of course, Gary said he would be contacting us to possibly speak to other groups and offer further assistance when they

decide to implement their loaner program.

And that’s where you, a club member, come in…we need help, especially because the few people who are doing Out-

reach at the present time are spread very thin and can only

do so much. So we encourage you to volunteer and we

guarantee that you will find it very rewarding and lots of

fun too!

6

Outreach in Burford, Ontario (cont’d)

An evening with the 3rd Waterdown Brownies By Ed Mizzi

On Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2016, I (Ed Mizzi) visited Guy Brown School in Waterdown, ON, to present a talk to the 3rd Wa-

terdown Brownies, led by Monique Alderman.

The Brownies (15 in all) began with their traditional pledge and welcomed me to join in their circle. They then gave me a

warm welcome and we got started.

I typically begin with a short introduction of myself and how I became interested (fascinated) in Astronomy. Then I move

on to a question/answer session, and I was pleasantly surprised at the level of knowledge these 7 and 8 year old girls had

attained. They answered almost all of my questions about our Solar System and did so in a polite manner, raising their

hands to be recognized and speaking so that everyone could hear.

I then went on with a few slides, showing photos and artists’ impressions of the planets and other objects in our Solar Sys-

tem. The young ladies asked excellent questions as we went through the slides and out of the 15 girls, at least 10 hands

were up for every question I asked.

While this was going on, one of the leaders was periodically checking the sky for me, as the evening was not looking

promising when I arrived at 6:30 p.m. Just as I was about to start a few activities, she interrupted with a report that the sky

was clearing but with a few thin clouds. So we decided to take the opportunity and went outside, where I had set up one

of the club’s 8” Dobsonian telescopes. I talked a little about the scope and how to look through the eyepiece and then each

girl, and leaders, had a look at the waxing Gibbous Moon. There were several oohs and awes and some great questions

about what they were seeing. I was so delighted that they had an opportunity to look through a telescope and I think they

were as well.

When we returned to the gymnasium, we only had about 20 minutes left, so I played some competitive worksheet games

with them and gave caramels and mini chocolate bars (peanut-free of course) as prizes. The girls were very cooperative

and seemed to enjoy the challenges presented by the games. Of course, I wanted to do so much more with them, but time

ran out.

They recited their special thank you chant for me and presented me with 2 boxes of yummy Girl Guide cookies. As I al-

ways do after these presentations, I felt like a million dollars. It is very gratifying and rewarding to know that I have

shared a little of my knowledge with people, especially children; and, to tell the truth, I think that I get more out of these

sessions than the audiences do?!!

7

Easy Alt/Az Mount Modification by Rod Nabholz

It seems that anybody who has been around the hobby of Astron-

omy for any time at all finds themselves on a quest for a low

hassle, quick to set up scope that will serve well when we have

just a little time, little space or a little gumption. The well worn

term “grab and go” was coined to describe this elusive set up.

For many, including myself, a short tube refractor fills the bill.

But identifying the scope type leaves us short a critical compo-

nent. We need a simple mount.

My Tele Vue Pronto was the scope, and I had perched it atop a

sturdy tripod with a fluid head. It was less than perfect. Balance

was always a problem – It was more frustration than fun. Not

likely to make me want to “grab and go” too often. I began to

look around for a better mount.

There are a great number of vendors that offer very specialized

Altitude/Azimuth (AltAz) mounts to fill this niche. I was active-

ly shopping for just such a mount when in April 2005, Sky and

Telescope Magazine ran an article by Alan Adler titled "A Sim-

ple Altazimuth Tripod Adapter”. It seemed to be just what I was

looking for.

Adler put his finger right on the issue I was having with my set

up – The center of gravity of the scope was way above the rota-

tion axis of the head – It could never provide a smooth balanced

movement.

His solution, brilliant in its simplicity, was to use an adapter to

bring the scope down to where the center of gravity was even

with the altitude axis of rotation of the tripod head. The photos in

the article and the text described a simple 1x4” board that did the

trick for his scope. This looked like it held some promise.

The construction was so simple and cheap, that I felt I had noth-

ing to lose by giving it a shot. I used a scrap of black ash left

over from a previous project. I ripped a piece that was as wide as

the platform of my tripod head. For length I simply eyeballed

how far it would need to extend to the side to make room for the

scope to clear the head and tripod.

For hardware, just a couple of things were needed. To attach it to the tripod, a ¼” 20 T-Nut. To attach the scope to the

adapter, a ¼ 20 bolt to mate with the tripod screw hole on the mounting collar of the Pronto. In my case, I had a nice knob

with that threading left over from another project that I used. Total hardware cost about $3

For my Pronto I simply drilled the two holes – one for the T-Nut and one for the scope attachment on the centerline of the

board. Depending on the T-Nut you have, you may find that you need to countersink it a bit to place the threads within

reach of the tripod head's mounting bolt.

8

Your scope's mounting method may mean that you have to

drill holes in a different configuration, but you can certainly

make the necessary changes easily enough.

For my set up the one board was all that was needed to place

the scope's center of gravity on the rotation axis of the head.

You may find that you have to adjust slightly to make things

come together for your set up. You can add a thin spacer board

on either end as necessary to bring things to where you need

them.

I took the extra steps of rounding the corners, sanding and fin-

ishing it with a couple of coats of polyurethane to help it stand

up to the elements a little better. You could get away without

doing the same if you wanted to. Heck, when it is this cheap to

make, you can make a lifetime supply of spares for $10.

To use the mount, simply attach it to your tripod head, make

sure to tighten it securely. Failure to do so could cause the

adapter to rotate when you have the scope inclined in altitude

bringing the tail end into the tripod.

Mount your scope to the underside of the adapter taking care

that you balance the scope front to back. Be sure and add your

diagonal and eyepiece before balancing.

When positioned and balanced correctly, the scope should re-

main stable when you slack the tension on the altitude lock on

the head. Admittedly, a fluid head makes this critical balance a

little less important and I would recommend that you choose a

fluid head if you need to buy one.

A tripod with a center column allows you to raise the scope up

to avoid contact with the legs when the scope is near the zen-

ith. Remember that raising the center column will diminish the

stability some, so be conservative or adjust your expectations

accordingly.

Many fluid heads offer a handle to tilt the head – it is a wel-

come convenience as well

In use it is a real pleasure. The scope goes where I want, and

stays where I put it – All you can ask of a mount. The cherry

on top is that it was easy and cheap, - All you can ever ask of

an Astronomy Project.

Thanks Mr. Adler – well done.

9

PEOPLE’S STARCAMP by Stuart Atkinson

You can't describe it,

They have to see it for themselves.

They have to stand in the darkness,

Wrapped up against the cold,

Hold a Thinsulated glove up to their face

And see it silhouetted against the stars.

They have to drink it in,

Remembering their barren sky back home,

That ugly orange dome with every glittering star erased.

No place in it even for Venus; only a 40 watt

Moon pierces the gloom sometimes,

And the ISS has never been seen

Arcing lazily from west to east -

But here...

Gasps in the dark as a blue shooting star

Skips from Pegasus to Plough,

The first some have ever seen;

Laser pointers' emerald beams sweep across the sky,

One shining right in Cassiopeia's eyes

As she hangs from her throne overhead;

Its long face stained by the Dark Rift's dusty birthmark,

The Milky Way is a cloud of campfire smoke

Rising up from behind the trees;

Cygnus' star clouds shimmer in the midnight breeze

As the Pleiades sparkle in the east;

A voyeur satellite peeks beneath flirty Andromeda's skirt

Before fading away again...

Some are thrilled by their first paddle

Into this endless sea of stars.

Standing on its shore for the f irst time

It's written on their faces - awe, wonder;

They can hear the universe's waves roaring in their ears

As they stand in line to peer into an eyepiece

At something else they have never seen before:

A galaxy, a cluster, each one more utterly beautiful

Than the last...

Others struggle to take it in.

There are too many stars, it's all too large,

And to think that that fuzzy blur The Expert insisted

Is two million light years away

Is frightening, not amazing.

As wide-eyed kids dash from 'scope to 'scope

Some feel only lonely and small beneath it all,

Crushed beneath the Cosmos' uncaring heel -

But over there, in a quiet corner on their own,

Hypnotised by Vega's vivid light,

Someone else is close to tears.

"I had no idea... no idea" she whispers,

Unknowingly repeating Ellie Arroway's words

As she bathed her face in the same star's sapphire light.

I say nothing, just nod and smile,

And stand with her a while,

Remembering how I felt when I was her...

DARK by Stuart Atkinson

Some nights here the sky is so dark,

The black as thick as tar

You wonder if ink is going to drip on your head

As you stand beneath the stars.

You feel that if you trail your fingers

Through the Milky Way they'll come away

Stained with interstellar ichor,

Snowflake galaxies sticking to your skin

Like lint, sequin supernovae glinting

In your upturned palm…

WAITING FOR STARS by Stuart Atkinson

As the north wind howls past the pods

Once-white camper vans and caravans, sploshed with

mud,

Huddle together for warmth behind "The Shop".

Scattered around them like pieces of modern art

Starlight-starved telescopes shelter beneath heavy bags

and sacks,

While awnings flap and crack like galleons' sails

As the gale bends the trees.

This way then that way they sway,

Dancing beneath scudding clouds of charcoal grey,

Watched forlornly through the Warm Room's windows

By those whose noses are not pressed against their

phones,

Suffering the endless buffering

Of the drinkingstrawband WiFi,

Firing-up one weather App after another

Until they find one predicting clear skies

After dark. That one starry icon is all it takes

To light a spark of hope in their hearts

And send them back to their tents - laptops

recharged, power-pack LEDs shining green

Again - smiling.

10

Hamilton Centre RASC, October 6, 2016: “Our Annual General Meeting” By Ed Mizzi

Here are the highlights of the October Annual General Meeting

Gary Bennett, our President gave a quick outline of the topics to be covered for the evening, and then welcomed new

members who were in attendance

Ed Mizzi discussed Outreach programs and how to get involved. He strongly encouraged members to join in these

fun sessions, whether they are in classrooms, adult groups or Guides and Scouts.

Gary Colwell discussed the observatory and that it needs to be maintained on a regular basis. The parking lot will be

improved soon. The two large scopes are presently out of commission and Gary B. is looking for assistance with repair-

ing them.

Bill Leggitt briefly discussed the state of our finances and promised to give a detailed report in November.

Gary B. followed up on the previous speakers and invited members to get involved and volunteer their time and ex-

pertise in keeping the club vibrant and active. He suggested that any member or members could easily organize their

own event, formal or informal, and that it is not necessary for one or more of the Directors to be involved. These get-

togethers would help members to learn more about each other and share their knowledge and skills, in addition to mak-

ing the club more inviting to both new members and the general public.

Gary then asked Andy Blanchard to report on the situation with AstroCATS and CAPS. Andy mentioned that he did

have someone interested in chairing AstroCATS 2017 and that CAPS was well on its way to its second annual event.

Gary B. then began the election of new Board members and encouraged others to join the Board if and when they

felt they could spare the time and energy. The slate of candidates was voted on as a whole and all were accepted as Di-

rectors of the Board for the Hamilton Centre RASC, 2016/2017.

Gary B. discussed that, after one year as a member in good standing, anyone could obtain a key to the observatory

and that the fee would be waived if that person helped with a club project or two. Gary’s vision includes having mem-

bers begin and/or join new committees or activity groups and offer their time and knowledge, rather than it being left to

only the Board of Directors.

Gary also encouraged those in attendance to make better use of our Forum and to get involved with other members

who share an interest in a particular aspect of the hobby. For example: Visual Observing, Astrophotography, Solar Ob-

serving, Hardware/Equipment and, of course, Outreach, etc.

Gary mentioned that the Board will be sending out a survey to suggest how to form “mini-clubs” that members are

interested in. Then our Board can organize the online forum so that members can “subscribe” to notifications when a

member posts a topic. The Board is also hoping that they can configure the online calendar so that members can organize

a get-together.

The Directors would also like to see members use the equipment. Their hope is that with more people becoming

comfortable with operating that equipment, we will also have more people who can help to make repairs when things

break and to use the equipment

for activities such as Outreach

and Science. Presently, there are

only 2 Directors/Members who

know the equipment well enough

to diagnose symptoms and possi-

bly fix them.

Gary B. mentioned the scope

loaner program. Members inter-

ested in borrowing an 8” Dob

should contact Ed Mizzi via the

Forum and borrow a scope for a

two week period.

Gary ended the meeting by

thanking those who attended and

inviting everyone for refresh-

ments, after the meeting, to the

Royal Coachman in Waterdown.

11

12

576 Concession 7 East, Flamborough ON

N43° 23’ 27” W79° 55’ 20”

Our mailing address has changed:

RASC Hamilton

P.O. Box 969

Waterdown, Ontario

L0R 2H0

President Gary Bennett

Vice President David Surette

Secretary Chris Talpas

Treasurer Bill Leggitt

Observatory Director Gary Colwell

Orbit Editor Roger Hill

Special Projects Bob Prociuk

Youth Outreach Ed Mizzi

Councilor Murray Romisher

Councilor Dino diSabatino

Jeff Booth, on the

Forum, posted this

picture of the Pleiades

and had this to say:

Here is a quick hit on

the Pleiades.

Basically, it is from a

few minutes' of expo-

sure, taken in the Ar-

thur area in the very

wee hours.

Would like to do a

longer exposure/

subs ... but have to

get back up there

first.

No bias, darks or

flats. Just used the

calibration software/

settings in Cannon

camera.

Processed with Nebu-

losity and then Pho-

toShop.